Do less before a competition, do better in the competition

Tapering off the length of time you train two weeks before a big race will help your performance in a race, according to a study in “Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise.”

Researchers studied athletes who reduced the length of their workout by 41 percent-60 percent without changing the intensity or the frequency of the workouts. It turned out that the tapering, which allowed them to recover their energy after intense training, helped their performance by 2 percent (which might not sound like a lot, but in a tight race it can make all the difference).